One of the hardest decisions Kanore McKinnon ever made was to leave his hometown of Dillon, South Carolina, four years ago and enroll at Georgia Military College to play football.
It was a choice that has come with consequences both positive and negative, and it has led to other difficult decisions.
But McKinnon followed through, played two years for the Bulldogs – and made a noticeable jump from his freshman to sophomore season, going from eight catches for 240 yards in 2017 to 30 for 514 in 2018, with four touchdowns each year – and graduated from the junior college in Milledgeville. In early 2019, the 6-foot, 200-pound receiver signed with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and with his final season with the Mocs underway, he has already graduated with a degree in environmental science.
Part of the reason McKinnon chose to leave home and family behind was in hopes of helping them. He had seven younger siblings, now ranging from 7 to 18 years old, leaning on him. That weight became much heavier when McKinnon’s mom, Thomasha, was killed in a car crash on Oct. 25, 2020 – the day after the Mocs lost 13-10 at Western Kentucky.
McKinnon considered moving back home to help take care of his siblings, but even visiting Dillon is a bittersweet experience for him now. Last September, numbers released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed Dillon’s violent crime rate was 45% above the national average.
“That’s why when I go home, I don’t really like to be there, but at the same time I like to be there because my siblings are there,” McKinnon said. “You’re just seeing people getting shot, people getting shot at, going out to clubs every weekend. That wasn’t the life I wanted to live, so I knew that wasn’t for me growing up there.”
Staff photo by Robin Rudd / UTC receiver Kanore McKinnon (2) prays before a home game against Furman in November 2019. McKinnon is in his third and final season with the Mocs, having signed with UTC after two years at Georgia Military College.McKinnon has proven a quality member of the Mocs’ receiver corps, totaling 218 yards on 13 catches in his first two seasons while playing in 15 of a possible 17 games. He had been projected as a starter this season, but he missed the opener, a 30-20 loss to Austin Peay last Thursday at Finley Stadium.
Instead, he was away from the team to witness the birth of Kanore Drayzion McKinnon Jr., his first child. It was something UTC coach Rusty Wright pretty much demanded he do, and the coach wasn’t worried about any potential consequences the Mocs might face by McKinnon not being available for the game.
“I’ve never had some of the situations that have happened to him happen to me in my life,” Wright said, “but how I would handle it if it was my child, if it was my dad or whatever, is to try and help him through those things.”
So at 12:36 p.m. on Aug. 27, Kanore McKinnon Sr. was present to witness the birth of Kanore McKinnon Jr., nicknamed True.
“Just to see my son come out was one of the greatest things ever,” he said. “When he came out, his back was turning towards me, but as he came out he twisted and his head goes straight at me. As soon as his head got towards me, his eyes opened, he looked dead in my eyes and I started crying.
“It was probably one of the greatest moments ever.”
Now all of that work to get out of Dillon and graduate from Georgia Military was clearly worth it. Now staying at UTC and finishing his degree – he graduated in May – makes it all worth it. McKinnon is equipped with a plan for his future: He wants to own his own trucking company someday, which will give him an opportunity to give back to some of his family members who have a commercial driver’s license.
All of that, of course, is contingent on football not providing a future career, but either way the sport – and the work McKinnon has put into it and school – has had positive consequences for him.
“It was very important to me. I wanted to use football to get me out,” he said. “I’m thankful to Chattanooga for giving me a chance here, because a lot of junior colleges don’t get you out, so I’m thankful to Chattanooga for that.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.
Staff photo by Robin Rudd/ UTC’s Kanore McKinnon catches a pass in front of Furman’s Quandarius Weems during a SoCon game at Finley Stadium in November 2019. During his time at UTC, McKinnon has experienced life-changing events, including the death of his mother, Thomasha, last fall and the birth of his first child, Kanore Jr., last week.